


Birthdays

by Hadronix



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Hoshido | Birthright Route, Missed Birthday, Nohr | Conquest Route, OoC Conquest Corrin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-06-08 18:21:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15249216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hadronix/pseuds/Hadronix
Summary: A simple two short chapter fic, hopefully full of sorrowful feelings with some angst sprinkled on top. Both cover the topic of Corrin finding that there was a birthday party complete with presents waiting for him/her after the end of the other path. Both also happen mere minutes after the final boss of their respective path.One features a Birthright-route M!Corrin opening a set of gifts from his adopted Nohrian family.The other contains a Conquest-route F!Corrin finding the leftover gifts from her blood-related Hoshidan family.





	1. Birth(Day)Rights

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright or the Fire Emblem franchise in general.
> 
> First up is Birthright M!Corrin.

  **Nohr, the day Corrin sided with Hoshido**

Castle Krakenburg felt oddly silent, more so than usual. The royal family siblings, Xander, Leo, Camilla, and Elise were all but dreading today. It was Corrin's birthday, but the adopted Nohrian Prince was not with them anymore, he took up Yato for Hoshido and just left them.

Elise sat in the room that was  **meant** to be Corrin’s, doing her best not to cry, in her hand she held a small carving of the Dusk Dragon. She places the gift on the table, “Why did you leave us?” As with the other siblings, Elise planned his present ahead of time which caused them all the more grief with his departure.

“Don't cry little sister, we'll get him back.” Camilla said as she entered the room. She had a sad smile on her.

“I know we'll, they  _ had _ to have done something to him...” Elise paused, “What did you get him?”

Camilla's smile came in full, “This...” She pulled out a sweater, on the front were five small images, their family. “Gods, the hours it took to make this...” The tiny Xander was on his horse, sword pointed skyward, Leo was sitting on a tree branch, Camilla rode her wyvern, Elise was jumping in joy next to her own horse, and below them all, centered in the middle, was Corrin, a multitude of hearts connecting the siblings.

“Aw, that's so cute!” Elise giggled.

“There's also this...” She said as she turned the sweater around, “But don't tell Leo!”

It was the back-side profile of the same scene, “What am I looking for, sis?” She asked as she tilted her head.

“Leo's collar.” Camilla pointed to the mini-Leo.

“Oh... oh!” Elise noticed that Camilla made it to where the Dark Knight's collar was inside out. “Hahaha!” She began laughing out loud.

“It seems like nothing is wrong as long as Elise is happy.” Leo spoke up. Camilla quickly turned the sweater around before setting it on her lap. “Which is almost all of the time.”

“Whatcha got, big brother?” Elise pointed towards the book in his hand, which was not his iconic tome, Brynhildr.

“This?” He held out the book, “It's Corrin's present.”

She rolls her eyes, “Well yea, but what is it?”

“Since the Hoshidans stole him from us, I decided to make a written compilation of fond memories of his time here.”

“It's a diary?”

Leo's face brightened red, “It is a manly recollection of cherished events!”

“So a diary?” Camilla began giggling.

“Gods...” He sighs as he pinches the bridge on his nose, “Fine, it’s a ‘diary’, happy?”

“When is Xander coming?” Elise asks.

“I'm sure he is working on his present right now.”

“You think?”

“What better present than bringing our Corrin back?”

“Actually, he isn't training right now.” Camilla looked surprised, “In fact, he isn't in  _ any _ of the training areas.”

“I hope he's okay...” Elise sighs as her mood finally starts to die down again. “He isn’t showing it, but losing Corrin really hurt him.”

Leo nods, “Yes, our brother may think he is an unflinching wall, but we’ve known him long enough to notice the little cracks in his behavior.”

“He was so proud of Corrin when he finally managed to hold his own against our Crown Prince.” Camilla adds.

Hours pass as the three siblings exchange small talk, most of them concerning Corrin. Elise yawns as the twentieth hour strikes, “Wow…” She sleepily says, “I didn’t realize we were talking so long…” She starts dozing off into Camilla’s lap.

“We should prepare for tomorrow, we have a brother to rescue.” Leo nods as he leaves.

Camilla’s smile turns vicious, “And we will make those Hoshidans  **pay** .” She gently picks up the youngest Nohrian princess and walks out.

Xander walks into the room assigned to Corrin, covered in soot, burn marks, a few broken fingers, and nearly exhausted. It was difficult, without a doubt the hardest thing the Crown Prince has ever done.

He was always trained in the way of the sword, specifically on horseback, blacksmithing was a far cry from it. But he pushed himself, and by the gods did his effort show. In his hand was a single sword, the metal blade is as black as night, the hilt is a deep purple with gold inlay…

A sword  **he** crafted. It took him weeks, and the royal blacksmith was at his wit’s end about how many resources the Crown Prince all but wasted… but he did it. With uncharacteristic gentleness, he places the sword in a case, which he then wraps in the same wrap that his siblings used. Xander places his present next to the others, takes a step back, then quivers as a single tear drop escapes him.

“Happy birthday, brother.” Was all he said before he left the room, mere minutes before midnight.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Over a Year Later, after Hoshido Wins the War**

Corrin stumbles backward as the adrenaline starts to fade and the realization hits him. “We won!” He drops Blazing Yato and throws his arms in the air, tears of joy leaving him, “The war… it’s over.” Dragon-Garon lies dead. A roaring applause follows.

“Big brother!” Sakura all but throws herself onto him.

“We did it.” Hinoka nods as she too, embraces her brother.

“It was only obvious outcome, we are the stronger ones, after all.” Takumi nods, but keeps an arm distance away.

“Together we can accomplish anything.” Ryoma wraps a single arm around his two sisters and brother.

Suddenly, the Draconic Hoshidan Prince tenses, as another, much more somber fact hits him. “So many died… the only one that even remotely deserved such a fate was Garon. But Elise, Xander…” He trails off.

While the rest of the Hoshidan royal family didn’t share the same sentiments for the Nohrian royals, it still hurt them to see Corrin affected by their loss. “I wish we could have prevented it.” Ryoma announces.

“My most sincere apologies…” Jakob walks up and the siblings break their embrace, “But… Lord Corrin, there is something you need to see.”

Wiping the few tears from his eyes he nods, “Of course.” He follows his Butler out of the Throne Room and through the hallways. “Jakob?” He asks.

“I… kept this from you.” He admits, “But, I think it is in your best interest you see this now, rather than later.” He stops at a door. “This… was to be your room.”

“Jakob…” Corrin hesitates, even as his ever-faithful Butler opens it.

“Xander and the others informed me to not speak of this, but considering the circumstances…” He enters and Corrin follows.

The Hoshidan Prince all but falls over when he sees it. “H-Happy Birthday?” He stutters out as a bright colorful banner hangs over the center, a stark contrast to the rest of Nohr. “But if they have this out…”

“This was done before you were taken to Hoshido, yes.” He confirms.

“Gods…” Corrin carefully approaches the presents laid out. He grabs the smallest one, the unmistakable flair of Elise’s handwriting spells out ‘For Big Brother!’ His eyesight blurs as tears form, but he pushes through and opens it. It’s a small Dusk Dragon figurine. “Little sister…” He gently places it aside, like it is made of fragile glass, rather than the sturdy enchanted wood it is actually made of.

A small book-shaped one is next, “Leo.” He guesses before even reading it and sure enough when he opens it, Leo’s pristine words are on the front cover. ‘For the memories you gave me.’ He opens the book and nearly breaks into tears on the spot, so many cherished memories…

A rather soft gift is next, Corrin gently opens it like the rest and is greeted with the warm feel of a sweater, ‘For our darling Corrin.’ He smiles as he looks at the tiny versions of his Nohrian family, “Camilla.” He nods.

Last, but not least, a rectangular present remains, “Xander.” He absentmindedly comments as he opens it. A masterfully crafted sword rests in a case, ‘A blade made for none other than you, Corrin.’

All of the presents rest in a pile. Jakob has remained silent throughout the entire process, “Get this wrapped up and preserved… place them in the Convoy, I want these saved until the end of time.”

He didn’t need to look to know that Jakob bowed, “At once, Lord Corrin.”

“Thank you…” He whispers, but whether it is to Jakob or his Nohrian siblings… he isn’t too sure.


	2. Conquered and Forgotten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corrin and her Nohrian siblings have triumphed over Hoshido, yet the atmosphere is solemn.
> 
> Then Kaze tells Corrin of one more thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest or the Fire Emblem franchise in general.
> 
> Conquest F!Corrin's turn is here. She will be considered OoC and the canon plot has changed to accommodate several things which makes the rest smoother.

**** Castle Shirasagi, despite the bountiful amounts of light and nature seemingly enchanting the place, it lies relatively somber, seemingly abandoned. Sakura shakes her head as she scraps what has to be the twentieth sheet of paper, no matter what she does, she can’t seem to get this drawing out right.

She finally gives in to tears after the next failed drawing. She just wants a good, clean painting of her family, so why is she lacking the focus? “Corrin…” She says after a minute as she shakily takes her brush up once more.

“Little sister…” Hinoka gently says as to not scare her, “Would you like some help?”

“I… can do this.” She proclaims even as another failed brushstroke ruins her work.

“We’re family, please, let me help you.” She pushes, then Sakura nods and lets her help. “We’ll get him back, I swear it.”

Sakura broke down and started crying, “Wh-why did she leave us…?”

“The Nohrians did something to her,” Ryoma’s voice echoed through the room, “We will fix this… together!” The High Prince stated with such conviction that Sakura believed he could simply will it to be true.

“R-right!” Her tears fade and only a steely determination remains, “We will get Corrin back!”

“So, what did you get Corrin?” Hinoka asked as she glanced over at Ryoma, before resuming with the painting.

The oldest Royal sighs, “My duties have kept me from working on it as much as I like, but I am smithing a set of armor for her in the colors of Hoshidan royalty.”

Hinoka laughs as she pulls back her brush to prevent from ruining another painting, “Big brother? Working the forge?” And just like that, the rest of the tension is gone.

He frowns, but the mood remains good-willed, “Is that so strange?”

“It is, actually.” Takumi’s voice sounded out as he entered the room, a large, but light, box in his hands. “I can’t imagine Ryoma being someone who swings a hammer around.” He gently places the box on the center table, directly under the ‘Happy Birthday!’ banner.

Sakura smiled as she stole a glance, “H-Hello, big br-brother.”

“I thought you would be so busy training that you forgot what tomorrow was.” Hinoka jabs at him.

He sighs, “This was my fault, wasn’t it? If I had just…”

“Don’t beat yourself up, brother.” Ryoma’s voice seemingly echoed throughout the room, “We’ll get her back.”

“What did you get her, Takumi?” Hinoka asked as she and Sakura took a step back, while the painting is no masterpiece, the effort shows all the same. It has Corrin with her arms wrapped around her birth family, all of them smiling. Queen Mikoto and King Sumeragi are in the background, up in the clouds watching over them all.

“And is that supposed to be a message on top? Why is it blank?” Ryoma stepped closer.

The young prince’s face flushes slightly from embarrassment, “Well, I suppose that blank sheet of paper would be the gift… there are nine hundred and ninety-nine paper cranes in this box… I was hoping to make the thousandth one with her.”

Sakura lets out an ‘aw’ and the other two smile, “That must have taken a long time.” Hinoka comments, “It’s really thoughtful, too… I wonder what she would wish for?” A short silence follows.

“What about you, sister? Where’s your gift?” Takumi breaks the silence.

She smirks, “You all know what I want to do.”

“I’m afraid I must have forgotten.” Ryoma smiles, clearly jesting, “Care to remind me?” Laughter follows.

“Oh dear, the High Prince must be getting old…” Hinoka openly smiles, “Well, I have a flight path planned out, I want to take her through the sights of Hoshido. I need to make a copy of the paper, it’ll be done before tomorrow.”

“Well, I-I should let this dry, first…” Sakura states as she puts a few finishing touches on it.

“I’ll resume training…” Hinoka and Takumi both say at the same time, before mock-glaring at each other.

The room bursts into laughter once more, “And I’ll see if I can get some free time to work on her armor.” Ryoma announces.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**About a Year Later, After Nohr Won the War**

Corrin’s vision is blurry as tears sting her eyes, they’re dead… they are all dead. “Why!?” She all but screams. Takumi’s possessed corpse lies mere inches away from her.

“Darling…” Camilla purrs as she starts massaging her little sister’s shoulders.

Corrin trembles in her big sister’s hands, “I… killed them.”

Leo approaches next, “You hold no fault, that coward Iago, magically manipulated you to kill them.”

The adopted Nohrian princess knew that was true, but… “It doesn’t change the fact that  **I** killed them, I thought it was what I wanted. I wanted father’s approval so badly that I never even noticed…” More than a few times during the war pushed Corrin to clam up from the world, hardening herself to fend off the sorrow and guilt. The Shadow Yato dropped to the ground and she carelessly kicked it away, like getting rid of the blade will undo the damage done.

“Big sister…” Elise nudges her, “Stop blaming yourself!”

Then the distanced look returns, “You’re right.” She nods, forcing herself hollow again so she doesn’t have to deal with the guilt… the regret. “It wasn’t my fault.”

Xander shows and places a hand on her shoulder, Camilla scoffed at being unable to massage that one, but she let him continue after seeing the raw emotion present on his face. “We’ll give them a proper burial, sister.”

But to their surprise, she shakes her head, “No, we should just go. I don’t…”

She was interrupted by Kaze walking closer, “Lady Corrin… there is something you should see, first.” He bows his head in shame, “I should have told you, but…”

“Just… get it over with.” She sighs as she leaves her family’s embrace, then follows the Hoshidan Ninja.

The two remain silent as he leads her through the empty castle, a place she no longer wants anything to do with. “Here…” He stops at a familiar door.

“Yes, I know this is my… was my room.” She amends.

He tenses, “Things were added since then,” he opens the door and Corrin freezes in place.

A banner hangs from the ceiling, “Happy… birthday?” She slowly reads as the cold shell leaves her, another wave of tears threatening to bring her to her knees. She unconsciously takes a step forward, then another. She looks the room over, a covered painting, a tall rectangular case, a large box, and a really small box. She stopped mid-stride and backed up, forcing that dreaded cold, uncaring wall back. “Kaze… get Camilla,” She starts as she becomes distant once more, “Make sure she has her tome on her.”

He startles, “I… at once, Lady Corrin.”

Corrin all but slams the door shut, she wants nothing to do with this place anymore. Should she feel angry? Sad? She was manipulated, after all… yet all that remains in her defenses is a cold and empty feeling. The person that was subtly changing her views lies dead… just like her birth family.

“Yes, my lovely Corrin?” Camilla asks, her Bolganone tome in hand.

She gestures towards the door, “Burn it, I don’t want anything to remain.” Normally such a declaration would kill her, but not now, she is in her shell, where she is safe, no emotion can hurt her… hinder her. “Absolutely nothing.”

The request doesn’t affect Camilla in the slightest, after all, she would do anything for Corrin, “Gladly, dear sister.” The adopted Nohrian sister watches without a care in her shell as the eldest Nohrian princess opens the door once more and her other hand is wreathed in flames, before the room all but explodes in a ball of flames, the heat growing so intense that even she could feel it.

They are all dead… and soon so will any physical evidence of their existence. Then, and only then will Corrin let the shell drop for good, since there won’t be any reason for her to remember what happened.

She is a princess of Nohr, her family is Nohrian, and that is all there is to it. The only memories she want is that of her Nohrian family. She walks away as Camilla dispels the flames from consuming the hallway they are in, her… the bedroom is pure black and there are several holes ripped in from pure heat alone.

Hoshido has no place in her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed these two quickies!


End file.
